Our Anniversary Dinner from Mary’s secret garden February 10, 2011

Yesterday, February 9th, 2011 was my 3rd wedding anniversary. Three years ago, my husband and I spent the most amazing fun-filled week with our closest friends and family in Manzanillo, Mexico. We had a very small and intimate ceremony that I will never forget.

 

My husband and I are not extravagant celebrators. We do not do gifts and we usually just celebrate by going out to a nice dinner. With a newborn at home, we could not go out to eat this year so we decided to order from our favorite restaurant and have a nice dinner at home. We ordered food from Mary’s Secret Garden, a restaurant I have blogged about here. This is, in my opinion, one of the best vegan restaurants out there. Mary is a Goddess in the kitchen and her raw and cooked food is absolutely delicious. I have tried almost everything on the menu and have yet to be disappointed!

 

When dining at Mary’s, I usually get one of her raw dishes. Her raw cheeses and sauces are absolutely divine. Her raw tostada is one of my favorites. She even has a secret raw menu that includes a raw onion bagel and a raw burger that are not listed on the  regular menu. I have had both and both are delish!

 

 

This time, however, I decided to go with something cooked. I got the falafel wrap, one of the few things on the menu I had not tried yet. It is Mary’s house-made falafel, with lettuce, tomato, and bell pepper wrapped in a spinach tortilla with Mary’s house-made vegan tzatziki sauce, served with a side salad. This was really really good, although I have to say Mary’s Spanish Burrito and Burger are still my favorite cooked things on the menu. No one does a burrito or burger quite like Mary does!

 

 

My husband opted for Mary’s famous burger done Mary’s style! That means it has avocado, tempeh bacon, and Mary’s secret sauce added to it. This burger is as close to the real thing as I have ever tasted! The side that comes with the burger changes weekly. This week it was served with a side of macaroni salad. Eddie also got one of Mary’s raw smoothies. This one had banana, hemp milk, pistachios, and mint. YUM!!! I love this smoothie so much I had to steal a couple of sips!

 

 

And of course, we had to get dessert! What is a celebration without dessert? Mary has a cake special at her restaurant that changes weekly. This week was a new flavor: Almond raspberry cake. I have to say I was a little disappointed when I heard that the cake did not have any chocolate on it! I am a sucker for chocolate and have tried Mary’s chocolate peanut butter cake, chocolate mint cake, and chocolate raspberry cake. All were absolutely fabulous. I have to say though, one bite of this cake and I was in heaven. It was so so good! I did not even miss the chocolate!

 

 

And the best part of the whole meal….my little Harper slept through the entire thing and I got to spend a few precious quality moments with my husband!

A Special Demonstration with the Best Vegan Chef on the Planet! October 10, 2010

Meet Mary, chef and owner of Mary’s Secret Garden, an organic vegan restaurant in Ventura, the only one of its kind in Ventura County. I have been to quite a few vegan restaurants all around the west coast and in my opinion, her restaurant is one the best. She is a genius in the kitchen. A few weeks ago, I went to a vegan meet up dinner at her restaurant, where she made us a special multi-course dinner and did a quick raw desert demonstration. It was awesome! The demonstration was for her Omega Macaroons, a raw hemp-coconut macaroon. I have included the recipe below. It is quick and easy and does not require any special equipment!

 

The dinner she made us was so amazing! We started out with a raw vegan Caesar salad with a super creamy delicious dressing. It was accompanied by raw crackers topped with tomato, her famous raw cashew cheese, and some basil pesto. So YUM!

 

The next thing she served was this seitan taco. Sorry about the picture, I had already started eating it before I remembered I needed to take a picture! This taco was stuffed with tons of delicious, perfectly seasoned seitan, chipotle cashew cheese, pico de gallo, avocado, and vegan sour cream.

 

Next, we had some vegan tzatziki sauce made with homemade flat bread. This was probably my least favorite part of the meal, although still very good! I am just not a big fan of tzatziki sauce!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The main course was a plate of perfectly roasted and caramelized cauliflower, with white rice and beluga lentils. This dish was so good, the rice had a great flavor, the cauliflower just melted in your mouth, and the lentils were perfectly cooked and seasoned. We also had some chickpea curry that was so yummy! It reminded me of Chana Masala, although I do not think that is what it was. All this food left me satisfied and super stuffed. But of course I could not pass up dessert!

 

 

Again, sorry for the pictures! It was getting rather dark by the time desert was served. Dessert was vegan baklava with a raw pistachio ice cream and saffron crema. I was not a big fan of the ice cream but the baklava was so good! We also got to try an omega macaroon and OH MY GOD! I cannot wait to make these at home. SO FREAKING GOOD!

 

All in all a great meal, I HEART Mary’s!

 

Here is the recipe for the raw macaroons, enjoy!

 

Omega Macaroons

Printable Recipe

Courtesy of Chef Mary of Mary’s Secret Garden

www.maryssecretgarden.com

 

½ cup Nutiva Raw Coconut Oil

½ cup Nutiva Coconut Manna Butter

2 Tablespoons Nutiva Hemp Oil

1 cup Organic Raw Agave Nectar

½ teaspoon Fresh Vanilla Bean Powder

½ cup Organic Raw Cocoa Powder

3 ½ cups Organic Medium Shredded Coconut Flakes (Unsweetened)

½ cup Nutiva Hemp Seeds

Whole Organic Almonds and Hemp Seeds for Garnish (optional)

 

1. Add the first six ingredients to a food processor and blend well until incorporated, scraping down the sides so everything gets mixed well. If you do not have a food processor you can melt the coconut oil a bit in the microwave or by placing the jar in warm water, and mix all ingredients by hand.

2. Pour mixture into a small mixing bowl and fold in shredded coconut and hemp seeds until well incorporated.

3. Using a small ice scream/cookie dough scooper, or just a spoon if you don’t have a scooper, scoop dough onto a chilled cookie sheet.

4. Press a whole almond on the top of each macaroon and sprinkle with hemp seeds if you desire.

5. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour before serving to allow the macaroons to firm up.

6. Enjoy!

 

Makes 24 Macaroons

Good Eats in Colorado! September 28, 2010

 

Eddie and I went to visit our friend, Nick in Denver, Colorado last weekend. I thought I would take a moment to show you some of the highlights of our trip… The Food!!!!

 

On of our favorite restaurants to eat at when we are in Denver is Watercourse. Watercourse, and the sister restaurant City O’ City are two of the only vegetarian restaurants in Denver and they are both so good!

 

The first thing we did when we arrived in Denver early on Thursday afternoon was head to Watercourse for some lunch.

 

 

One of my favorite things about Watercourse is that they are open everyday until 10pm and they serve breakfast until 5pm! This time, however, we all decided to get sandwiches. I got the Portobello Mushroom Po’ Boy on a sourdough baguette with mashed potatoes and gravy and seasonal veggies. This sandwich was so good. The sauce they used on the coleslaw really made it tasty! Eddie and Nick both really liked their sandwiches as well.

 

We also tried the Buffalo Satan Wings with Vegan Ranch Sauce. Oh my goodness, these were so good, they were gone before I could get a picture!!

 

I could not leave without ordering dessert. They have cakes, pies, and cookies, all VEGAN! They have these cookies called Scout cookies that are AMAZING. I was so stuffed I decided to order my dessert to go and eat it later. I went with the chocolate cake, because I am a sucker for chocolate. This cake was okay. The frosting was delicious but the cake was a bit dry. That could have been because the cake sat in a fridge for several hours before I ate it, though. 

 

The next morning we slept in and by about 11am, we were starving. I do not know when I will get back to Denver after the baby is born so I wanted to get as much of my Watercourse fix as I could while we were in town. So back to Watercourse we went for some brunch!

 

I ordered the Amsterdam Hash with scrambled tofu, veggies, and home fries with gravy. I got my gravy on the side and ordered a sweet potato biscuit (They are the BEST!) to dip in the gravy. SO GOOD!

 

After lunch we explored the city a bit and then went to the movies to see The Town (Good Movie!), we decided it was time for dessert. We went to Sweet Action for some sweet vegan ice cream. They usually have at least two vegan flavors made with coconut milk. This time it was chocolate and chocolate chip. Eddie and I got a pint to share with a mixture of both flavors. They both had chocolate in them so of course they were winners in my book! They also have vegan ice cream cookie sandwiches. YUM… ICE CREAM!!!

 

 

On Saturday, our last day in Colorado, we headed over to boulder to do some hiking and finish our trip off right with some more yummy vegan food! We decided to eat at VG burgers, a vegan fast food joint. 

 

I got a vegan chocolate mint milkshake that was amazing! It is made with coconut milk and was creamy and thick, just like I like it! I also got the buffalo tempeh wrap (I was really into the buffalo sauce this weekend!) which really hit the spot. The buffalo sauce was not quite as good as the buffalo sauce they use for the buffalo seitan wings at Watercourse but the tempeh was nice and crispy and the ranch sauce they used on this wrap was really good!

 

Eddie got the black bean burger and Nick got the buffalo tempeh wrap as well.

 

Well, that was a quick overview of my eats while in Colorado. I will leave you with a picture of me on our hike in the beautiful Rockies! Look at my growing belly!

Our Mini-Vacation: Driving down the 1, Half moon Bay, and Walnut Creek September 21, 2010

Eddie and I are trying to visit as many people as we can before the baby is born and we become homebound for awhile. So last weekend we took a little trip up the coast of California and visited some friends in the bay area. If you have not driven HWY 1 up California, Oregon, and Washington, I HIGHLY recommend it. It is one of the most breathtaking drives with the most gorgeous views, and quaint little towns.

 

We left on Friday morning and since we have done this drive several times, we did not make many stops this time. We stopped at beach near Cambria so that we could stretch our legs for a bit. It was pretty gray out but the weather was actually really nice. Not too hot, not too cold.

  Chester made a friend and we watched some birds with crazy long beaks digging in the sand for sand crabs.

Our next stop was at a little restaurant called Robin’s Restaurant in Cambria. What a cute little restaurant! The restaurant itself is located in this beautiful little building with plants and flowers growing all over it.

We sat in the back patio so that little Chester could hang out with us. The backyard had a beautiful garden. I ordered a grilled vegetable sandwich with rosemary fries and Eddie ordered an Asian pasta dish. I meant to take a picture of my food but I was so hungry that I ate the whole thing before I realized that I had not take any pictures!

I could not help taking pictures of all the beautiful flowers and plants I saw in the back patio.

Here are just a few of the breathtaking views along HWY 1 between Los Angeles and San Francisco. There is so much beauty to see but because we did not stop very often I was not able to capture most of it.

 

And of course I forgot my camera for the rest of the trip so I do not have any more pictures.

 

The first night we spent with some friends named Liz and Vee in Half Moon bay. They have a cute little house about a block away from the beach. We hung out, ate some good food, took a walk on the beach with the dogs, and had a good time.

 

Saturday morning we met my parents in downtown Half Moon Bay for lunch. It turned out to be a gorgeous day and it was so nice to spend sometime outside.

 

On Saturday afternoon we drove up to Walnut Creek to see our friends Ken and Cerina that had recently gotten married. We walked to downtown Walnut Creek that evening to watch the walnut parade for a bit and then drove to Berkeley to have dinner with some old friends.

 

We had dinner with about 13 friends and family at Fellini’s in Berkeley. I chose this restaurant because it has a ton of vegan and non-vegan options. I got the vegan verde pizza with pesto, vegan cheese, asparagus, artichoke, and spinach and Eddie got the Vegan baked ravioli. Both were really good! For dessert Eddie and I shared the vegan chocolate cake.. OH MY GOSH, So Good!!!

 

Sunday we met up with my grandparents for lunch at a little Thai restaurant in Dublin. Then had an early dinner that consisted of fried onion rings, sweet potato fries, shoe string fries, and a grilled artichoke. Not exactly healthy but yummy!!!

 

For dessert that night Cerina and I made a vegan version of a pizookie! We made vegan chocolate chip cookie dough and cooked it in shallow ramekins for about 15 minutes so they were crunchy on the edges but still all gooey in the middle. Then we topped it with some coconut vanilla ice cream and warm vegan chocolate sauce. It was AMAZING!!! I really wish I had pictures of it because it was really impressive.

 

We had a fun night of playing Settlers of Catan and then Eddie and I left Monday morning to make the long drive back to Camarillo.

 

Overall our trip was too short but so nice. It was great to see old friends and eat good food!